News

Monday 23rd May

How should we judge our politicians in relation to Asylum Seekers?

Below is a list of our obligations as global citizens.

THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF PEOPLE IN IMMIGRATION DETENTION
Australia’s international human rights obligations under the Conventions Relating to the Status of Refugees include:
• Everyone has the right not to be subjected to arbitrary detention.
• Children should only be detained as a measure of last resort, and for the shortest appropriate period of time.
• Anyone who is detained has the right to challenge the lawfulness of their detention in court, and should have access to independent legal advice and assistance.
• All persons who are detained should be treated with humanity and respect for their inherent dignity.
• No one should be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
• In all actions concerning children, the best interests of the child should be a primary consideration.
• Refugees and people with certain claims under the ICCPR, CAT or CRC cannot be returned to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened.
• Everyone is entitled to respect for their human rights without discrimination.
The conditions for people in immigration detention, and the manner in which they are treated while in detention, should comply with these human rights obligations.

Thursday 19th May

Wednesday 18th May

Monday 9th May 2016

Preferencing page launched.

This is a Facebook group that invites members to think about issues of importance to voters in this and forthcoming elections.

55 sleeps to go

Sunday 8th May 2016

Election Called.

Friday 15th January 2016

Fulcrum Australia website has now been launched.

The success of this site depends on you, and we are looking for volunteers. If you are passionate about the closure of offshore and onshore detention facilities for Asylum Seekers, please work with us to take the opportunity offered by the upcoming election in both hands and bring about real change, however small. Each step forward strengthens our democracy and weakens those who intend to manipulate or bypass the Australian electorate.

We get the government we deserve!

We are targeting volunteers to take responsibility for the Senate in each State, and for each of the top twenty marginal constituencies in the lower house. These are:

First Fulcrum Australia questionnaires sent out

The Fulcrum Australia questionnaire has now been sent to all sitting Senators, and the sitting Members of Parliament in the top twenty most marginal seats. So far we have only received a number of confirmations of receipt of the questionnaire.

Later, of course, we will be sending the questionnaire to all candidates, not just the sitting members, but we want to start raising awareness of our intentions as soon as possible.

If you have any involvement or influence over the preselection of candidates, please read the questionnaire yourself, and put it before the selection panel and candidates.

We get the government we deserve!

Friday 15th January 2016

Fulcrum Australia call for volunteers

It is one of our values that Fulcrum Australia will depend on committed volunteers, and not professionals. This keeps costs down, keeps us honest, and involves citizens directly in the direction of their government.

At this stage, our main requirement is for volunteers to represent each State in the Senate, and each constituency in the Lower House.

As that is a big ask, we are targeting the Senate and the top twenty most marginal seats. If you want to be involved, and do not live in a marginal seat, please to not let that dissuade you! Please volunteer and we will give you all of the support that we can.

With what we have learned so far, we also need a website professional and an accountant or someone with tax and financial knowledge.

We need a Web Manager to volunteer to keep our website and online resources under control. At present we are using free or low cost services from Survey Monkey and ????

We are not asking for contributions at the moment, but if the project is to succeed, we may need money to cover Web hosting, direct costs incurred by the questionnaire, and minor printing costs. It is our wish at this stage to set up and account with a direct bank feed to the site so that all visitors can see (but not change) all of our contributions and our expenditures. We need someone to volunteer not to do the grunt work, but to advise us on any tax or legal issues, and to keep an independent eye on our finances.

Below is a link to the volunteer registration form. If you have a specific skill please inform us next to your name your name.

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5 thoughts on “News”

Therese Zuke Zucchinis I strongly support David and Jill Parris’s Fulcrum Australia – this is strategic thinking, as everyone has been advocating. The only way to change the laws is to hit the politicians and the parties where it hurts.

January is the Silly Season in politics, because all of the pollies and their staff are on holiday. But we need to keep working.

We have received no responses from sitting members to date. Some of this is because they are away, but many have automated replies that say that they only answer questions from constituents, and/or they do not answer internet-based campaign queries.

So this makes it essential that we find volunteers to approach the candidates in key or if possible in all electorates.

Our aim is to swing 500 votes in key marginal seats and more in the Senate. That will certainly make them sit up and take notice.

The word comes from Galileo, who when talking about levers said that given a suitable fulcrum, he could move the earth. So about a small force moving a large, apparently immovable object by applying the force in the right place.

The internet is crowded, and fulcrum is used many times. So we did look at a large number of other names, Leverage, Lever / Edge, were favourites at one stage, but in the end we decided to keep it simple and to the point. Just as a hammer can pull out a nail, we hope to leverage our votes to free detainees from Australian concentration camps.

If we can get a little movement this time, perhaps we can shift the fulcrum slightly and move things a little further and so on.

The other image we had in mind is clearing a large boulder from a road using a hammer and chisel. If the chisel is sharp and placed correctly, a sharp blow will cut away a chip of rock. Eventually the whole boulder is reduced to pieces we can handle. However if we are too ambitious, and place the chisel too far from the edge, we swing the hammer hard but make no progress. All we do is blunt the chisel, tire our arm, make a lot of noise, and eventually hit our thumb.

The first letter to a member of parlament I have been happy to post in months.

The Honourable Mr Andrews
Office of the Premier
1 Treasury Place
Melbourne, Victoria
Australia, 3002
6th February 2016
Dear Mr Andrews,
I have just received a message from a refugee friend in Manus island detention centre and he has asked me to thank you on his behalf for your stand to support the children threatened with deportation to Nauru.
This alerted me to your letter to the Prime Minister.
I wish to add my quivering voice to his. Quivering because I have just read your letter and it is overwhelming. I am in tears.
Thank you.
It is so long since I have read a compassionate word from anyone in government. I had become so desperate about our countries condition that I could not get past my anger to grieve. Today for the first time in many months I have been able to cry for country.
Thank you further because you are prepared to support your word with action. I solute you sir.
You are truely a man I feel privileged to support.
Yours Sincerely,
Jill